Wednesday, April 30, 2008

1789] George Washington takes office as our 1st President of these United States on Wall Street...1931] The George Washington Bridge, linking Manhattan to New Jersey opens...

1901] Cy Young pitching for the Boston Americans, beats the A's 8-6 in Philadelphia. The Americans name will change to the Red Sox...1939] Lou Gehrig plays his last game with the Yankees. In that game Gehrig goes 0 for 4 against the Washington Senators in a game played at Yankee Stadium...

1939] The New York World's Fair, billed as a look at "The World of Tomorrow" opens in Flushing Meadow...

1961] Using utility player Joey Amalfitano's bat, Willie Mays of the S.F. Giants becomes the 9th player in history to hit 4 home runs in a game as the Giants beat up on Milwaukee 14-4 at Milwaukee County Stadium...

1991] An estimated 125,000 die as a cyclone hits Bangladesh...

1993] Top-ranked women's tennis player Monica Seles is stabbed in the back during a match in Hamburg, Germany by a 38-year old Steffi Graf fan. Seles will never be the same player after the stabbing. The wound was 1/2" deep...

1997] ABC-TV airs the "coming out" episode of "Ellen" in which the title character played by Ellen DeGeneres admits she's a lesbian. Are you trying to tell us something Ellen???

2001] Washington intern Chandra Levy is seen for the last time at a health club near her apartment. Her remains are found more than a year later in a D.C. park. California Congressman Gary Condit was questioned in the case due to his relationship with Levy...

2004] Former New Jersey Net star Jayson Williams is acquitted of aggravated manslaughter in the shotgun slaying of his limo driver at his New Jersey mansion. This case will be retried. The date is pending...

2007] 'Happy Trails' to: Comedian Tom Poston passes away at 85 after a brief illness...2007] Zola Taylor, one of the original Platters and former wife of Frankie Lyman, dies from pneumonia after a series of strokes. Taylor was 69...

1961] ABC's "Wide World of Sports" debuts with "The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat."...

1986] Red Sox ace Roger Clemens strikes out 20 Seattle Mariners at Fenway Park setting a new major league record previously shared by Nolan Ryan, Steve Carlton and Tom Seaver, all tied with 19 Ks...

1990] The Berlin Wall starts to come down...

1992] Deadly rioting erupts in Los Angeles after a jury in Simi Valley acquits 4 LAPD officers of almost all charges in the beating of Rodney King, captured on video tape. 54 die and $1 billion in damage are the result of the rioting...

1993] The animated Barry White appears on "The Simpsons"...

1996] Former CIA Director William Colby is missing and presumed drowned after an apparent boating accident in Maryland. Colby's body is later discovered...

2004] A national WWII monument saluting both the men and women who served, opens to the public in Washington, D.C...

Friday, April 25, 2008

1941] A tradition is born at Wrigley Field in Chicago as Roy Nelson serenades the crowd with organ music. It doesn't help the Cubs, who lose 4-2 to the Cardinals (4/26)...

1947] Over 58,000 fans jam Yankee Stadium to say goodbye to Babe Ruth. One year later he would die, a victim of cancer (4/27)...

1956] 31-year old, undefeated heavyweight champ, Rocky Marciano calls it quits and hangs up his boxing gloves with a perfect 49-0 record (4/27). At the age of 44 Marciano will be killed in a small plane crash...

Saturday, April 19, 2008

1775]The American Revolutionary War begins with the battles of Lexington and Concord. This day (4/19) will be commemorated as "Patriot's Day"...

1912] Debuted on this date: Fenway Park opens with the Red Sox beating the Highlanders (who will become the Yankees) 7-6 (4/20). Boston Mayor John "Honey Fitz" Kennedy throws out the first ball, something grandson Teddy Kennedy will do for the 100th anniversary of Fenway in 2012...1934] Shirley Temple debuts in "Stand Up and Cheer" (4/20)...1939] Ted Williams debuts, playing right field and doubles for his first hit at the age of 20. The Yankees beat the Red Sox 2-0 at Yankee Stadium (4/20)...1959] "Desilu Playhouse" debuts on CBS-TV with a two-part show titled "The Untouchables" which will become a regular series (4/20)...1961] FM Stereo is approved by the FCC (4/20)...1964] "Viva Las Vegas" starring Elvis Presley premieres (4/20)...1977] Woody Allen's "Annie Hall" premieres (4/20)...

1960] Paywhata?: Dick Clark tesifies before a congressional committe investigating payola. He will be forced to divest himself of record properties he has a financial interest in (4/21)...

1970] Famous 'firsts': The first "Earth Day" is observed (4/22). 20 years later to the day (1990), over 750,000 are treated to an 'Earth Day' concert in Central Park starring Hall & Oates, Ben E. King and the B-52s.....1976] Barbara Walters becomes the first female nightly news anchor (4/22)...1978] John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd make their first appearance as The Blues Brothers on "Saturday Night Live" (4/22)...

1981] Marathon game: The longest pro baseball game ever played, between Pawtucket and Rochester is suspended after 32 innings (4/19) (at the 8 hour, 7-minute mark) with the score tied 2-2 at 4:07 a.m. Two months later when play resumes, Pawtucket wins in the 33rd inning. Two future Hall of Famers played in this game: Wade Boggs (Pawtucket) and Cal Ripken Jr. (Rochester)...

1986] Nuke leak: The world's worst nuclear accident occurs at Chernobyl in the Ukraine. An explosion and fire in the #4 reactor sends radioactivity into the atmosphere killing at least 31 immediately (4/26)...

1989] 'Happy Trails': Legendary actress-comedian Lucille Ball passes away at 77 from a ruptured aorta (4/26)...1993] Labor leader Cesar Chavez dies in his sleep at 66 (4/23)...1994] Former President Richard M. Nixon dies at 81 (4/22), the results of a stroke 4 days earlier...1995] Howard Cosell dies at 77 from a heart embolism (4/23)...1998] James Earl Ray who at first confessed to killing Martin Luther King Jr. only to deny it saying he was framed, dies of kidney disease in prison at 70 (4/23)...2004] NFL player Pat Tillman who traded a career in football for life as an Army Ranger in Afghanistan, is killed by friendly fire at the age of 27 (4/22)...

1993] Branch Davidian leader David Koresh and dozens others are killed when fire destroys their compound near Waco (TX) as the 51-day siege ends. Attorney General Janet Reno takes responsibility for the way the siege was handled by federal agents (4/19)...

1995] The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City is destroyed by a bomb (4/19). It is the worst bombing and/or act of terrorism on U.S. soil until 911. 168 are killed including 19 children, 500 are injured. Timothy McVeigh is found guilty of the bombing in June, 1977 and eventually executed for it...1999] In another horrific act, a dozen students and one teacher are killed at Columbine High School in Littleton (CO) when two teenage students open fire before taking their own lives (4/20)...

1995] Celtic Pride: The Boston Celtics play their last game at the old Boston Garden (4/21). The Garden, home since 1946 is replaced by the Fleet Center (now TD Banknorth) using a piece of the parquet floor taken from the Garden. In 1963 (4/24) and 1964 (4/26) the Celtics won their 5th & 6th consecutive titles there...

Friday, April 18, 2008

1775] Paul Revere and William Dawes set out on their ride from Charlestown to Lexington (MA) to warn the colonists that those nasty Redcoats were coming...

1846] The telegraph ticker is patented by R. E. House who would become? A household name...

1895] New York State passes an act that establishes free public baths. The Village People are booked as the opening act...

1906] San Francisco is devastated by an earthquake that takes 3,000 lives...

1923] John Philip Sousa's band plays the national anthem as Yankee Stadium opens in the Bronx. The Yankees beat the Red Sox in the opener 4-1...

1945] 'Happy Trails': American war correspondent Ernie Pyle is killed by Japanese gunfire off Okinawa. Pyle was 44...1955] Albert Einstein dies of an aortic aneurysm in Princeton (NJ) at 76. The rumors about Einstein's brain being preserved are true. They were used to study his genius...2002] Norwegian adventurer (Kon-Tiki) Thor Heyerdahl dies from cancer at 87...

1934] The first men's sock is lost as the first laundromat opens in Fort Worth (TX)...

1983] The U.S. Embassy in Beirut is blown up by a suicide car bomber killing 62 including 17 Americans...

1994] Former President Richard M. Nixon suffers a stroke which he will never fully recover from...

2002] Police arrest actor Robert Blake in the shooting death of his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley one year earlier. Blake will be acquitted but is found liable in a civil case...2003] Scott Peterson is arrested in the death of his wife, Laci, who was 8 months pregnant when she vanished on Christmas Eve, 2002. Peterson was sentenced to death and is currently on death row at San Quentin...

Thursday, April 17, 2008

1524] Giovanni da Verrazano reaches present day New York harbor. Verrazano says he won't leave until a bridge is built in his name...

1704] John Campbell publishes what will eventually become the 1st successful American newspaper. He calls it the "Boston News-Letter"...

1937] Debuted on this date: Daffy Duck debuts in "Porky's Duck Hunt"...1951] Mickey Mantle goes 1 for 4 in his debut with the Yankees as the Bombers beat the Red Sox 5-0. Two years later on the same date in 1953, Mantle hits the first "tape measure" home run in Washington (D.C.) The ball travels 565 feet...1964] Ford unveils its new Mustang...1967] "The Joey Bishop Show" debuts on ABC-TV with Regis Philbin as the announcer. The show will run through 1969...

1947] Jackie Robinson bunts for his 1st major league hit in a 12-6 win over the Braves in Brooklyn...

1960] 21-year old rocker Eddie Cochran dies in Bath, England from injuries sustained in a car crash that seriously wounds Gene Vincent. Vincent will recover from his injuries...

1963] Paul Hornung of Green Bay and Alex Karras of Detroit are suspended from the NFL for a full season for betting on NFL games...

1969] Guilty as charged: A jury in Los Angeles convicts Sirhan B. Sirhan of assassinating Sen. Robert F. Kennedy in 1968...1993] Two former L.A. police officers are convicted of violating the civil rights of beaten motorist Rodney King. Two other officers are acquitted...1996] Erik and LyleMenendez are sentenced to life without parole for the murder of their parents...

1970] Johnny Cash performs at the White House at the invitation of Richard Nixon...

1972] The Boston Marathon allows women to run for the 1st time in its 76-year history...

1998] 'Happy Trails': Cancer claims the life of Linda McCartney at 56...2007] Socialite/actress/spokeswoman for the arts, Kitty Carlisle Hart passes away from congestive heart failure resulting from a prolonged bout of pneumonia. She was 96...

1962] Walter Cronkite succeeds Douglas Edwards as anchor of the CBS Evening News. "And that's the way it is, Monday, April 16th, 1962"...

1972] Apollo 16 blasts off on a voyage to the moon. It's the 5th manned moon landing...

1977] The ban on women attending West Point is lifted...

1994] Harry Connick Jr. and Victoria Secret model Jill Goodacre croon and swoon down the aisle. They are still happily married with family...

1996] Britain's Prince Andrew and his wife Sarah a.k.a. Fergie, announce their intention of getting a divorce. Married 10 years they will divorce before the year is over...

1999] Wayne Gretzky announces his retirement from the Rangers and the NHL after 21 years. 'The Great One' is now part-owner/coach of the Phoenix Coyotes...2003] Michael Jordan plays his last NBA game (really, this time) as his Washington Wizards end their season with a loss (what else?) to Philadelphia...

2007] Virginia Tech senior Seung-Hui Cho goes on a shooting rampage resulting in 32 deaths and his own in a suicide on campus in Blacksburg, Virginia...

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

1865] Andrew Johnson becomes the 17th President of the United States after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln who dies from his wounds...

1947] Jackie Robinson becomes major league baseball's first black player, making his debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Jackie, playing first base goes hitless in 3 at-bats...

1955] Ray Kroc opens the first McDonald's fast-food restaurant...

1959] Cuban leader Fidel Castro begins what he calls "a good will tour" of the U.S...

1965] In a call made famous by Johnny Most ("Havlicek Stole the Ball") the Celtics win the Eastern Division championship over Philadelphia when John Havlicek steals an in-bound pass as time runs out...

1968] The longest 1-0 game in baseball history is a 24-inning game between the Astros and Mets with Houston winning in 6 hours and 6 minutes...

1982] Billy Joel is seriously hurt in a motorcycle accident on the Long Island Expressway. Yussell will be hospitalized for a month...

1985] Marvelous Marvin Hagler retains his world middleweight crown in a great battle with Thomas "Hitman" Hearns that ends in a 3rd round TKO...

Monday, April 14, 2008

1865] President Abraham Lincoln is shot and mortally wounded by actor John Wilkes Booth while attending the comedy "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theater in Washington (DC). He will die of his wounds the following day...

1894] The 1st public showing of Edison's kinetoscope a.k.a. 'moving pictures' is held...

1902] James Cash Penney opens his 1st retail store, The Golden Rule Store in Kemmerer (WY). The name will be changed to J.C. Penney...

1910] President William Howard Taft throws out the 1st ball for the Washington Senators-Philadelphia A's game in Washington (DC) and a tradition is born...1925] WGN becomes the 1st radio station to broadcast a regular season major league baseball game as 'The Cubs win, the Cubs win, the Cubs win", 8-2 over the Pittsburgh Pirates...1955] Elston Howard becomes the Yankees 1st black player...1969] The 1st major league game is played in Canada (Montreal)...

1912] The Titanic, on its maiden voyage, hits an iceberg and begins to sink. It will fully sink at 2:27 a.m. on April 15th. More than 700 survive but 1,517 lose their lives...

Friday, April 11, 2008

1861] The Civil War begins as confederate forces fire on Fort Sumter (4/12)...

1890] Ellis Island is designated as an immigration station (4/11)...

1924] WLS (Chicago) signs on (4/11)...1962] The New York Mets make their National League debut with an 11-4 loss in St. Louis (4/11)...1954] HankAaron makes his major league debut with Milwaukee going 0 for 5 in the Braves loss to Cincinnati 4/13)...1963] Pete Rose gets his first major league hit (a double) for Cincinnati (4/13)...

1945] President Franklin D. Roosevelt dies of a cerebral hemorrhage in Warm Springs (GA) at 63 (4/12) Harry S. Truman is sworn in as our new President...1989] Radical activist Abbie Hoffman is found dead at home at 52, an apparent suicide (4/12)...1989] Former boxing champ Sugar RayRobinson dies from complications of diabetes at 67 (4/12)...

1978] Reggie Jackson hits a home run and 'Reggie Bars' rain down at Yankee Stadium (4/13)...

1995] Drew Barrymore jumps on David Letterman's desk, lifts her sweater up with her back to the audience and gives Letterman an eyeful as a birthday present (4/12)...

1996] 7-year old Jessica Dubroff, who was trying to become the youngest person to fly cross-country is killed with her father and flight instructor after takeoff from Cheyenne (WY) (4/11)...

1999] Jack Kevorkian is sentenced to 10 to 25 years for the second-degree murder (4/13) of a man whose assisted suicide was shown on "60 Minutes" in 1998. He is released after serving a few years because of his health...2005] Eric Rudolph pleads guilty (4/13) to carrying out the deadly bombing at the 1996 Olympics and 3 other attacks. He is now serving 4 consecutive life sentences...

2007] Don Imus is fired for his racial references to the Rutgers' women's basketball team. On the same day (4/12) New Jersey Governor Corzine is seriously injured in an automobile crash. Corzine was on his way to a meeting with the team and Imus...

Thursday, April 10, 2008

1841] The New York Tribune begins publishing under Horace Greeley who would become famous for saying "Go west young man"...

1912] The Titanic sets sail on its ill-fated maiden voyage from Southampton, England...

1925] F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" is published...1953] Warner Brothers releases "House Of Wax", the 1st 3-D movie released by a major Hollywood studio...1957] Ricky Nelson sings for the 1st time on "Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet". His first song? "I'm Walkin"...

1947] 28-year old Jackie Robinson becomes the 1st black player to be signed by a major league team when Dodger President Branch Rickey signs Jackie to a contract at the team's Montague Street executive offices in Brooklyn. All Jackie will do is help the Dodgers to 7 pennants and a World Series victory (1955) in the 10 years he played for them...

1956] Nat "King" Cole is attacked and beaten while performing for an all-white audience in Birmingham (AL)...

1964] Demolition begins on the Polo Grounds to clear way for a housing project. The Mets had a new home as Shea Stadium was now open...

1969] The Mets' Tommie Agee reaches the upper deck in left field off of Expo pitcher Larry Jaster. The area is still marked and is considered the longest home run ever hit at Shea Stadium...

1992] Wacky comedian Sam Kinison, 38, is killed in a car crash when he's rear-ended between L.A. and Las Vegas...1998] Eddie O'Jay, one of the pioneers of R&B radio, passes away in the Bronx following complications of 2 heart attacks. Born Edward O. Jackson, the O'Jays were named after him when he was a DJ in Cleveland. Eddie was working for the city of New York at the time of his death...2003] Little Eva a.k.a. Eva Narcissus Boyd who got her start as a babysitter for Carole King and Gerry Goffin, dies at 59 in Kinston (NC) after a lengthy illness. Her #1 hit, "The Loco-motion" was written by Goffin-King...

2003] The House passes the national "Amber Alert" system and strengthens child pornography laws (but not enough - never enough)...

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

1912] The 1st exhibition game is played at Fenway Park with the Sox beating Harvard 2-0 in a game played in the snow...

1913] The Dodgers play their 1st regular season game at Ebbets Field as nearly 12,000 fans watch Brooklyn lose a 1-0 game to the Phillies. This would be a rough year for the hometeam as the Bums finish 34 1/2 games out of 1st place...

1959] NASA announces the selection of America's first seven astronauts...

1962] "West Side Story" wins 10 Academy Awards...1972] Jane Fonda wins an Oscar for her role in "Klute"...

1965] Mickey Mantle hits the 1st Astrodome home run in an exhibition game between Houston and the Yankees. It is the 1st indoor baseball game...

1974] College student Ted Giannoulas answers a radio station ad for a mascot in San Diego and becomes the 'San Diego Chicken'...

1976] Songwriter and performer Phil Ochs who suffers from manic-depression, takes his own life at 35...1988] Dave Prater of Sam & Dave is killed in a car accident at 50...

1992] Former Panamanian ruler Manuel Noriega is convicted in Miami of 8 drug and racketeering charges and is sentenced to 30 years in prison...

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

1834] In New York City, Cornelius Lawrence becomes the 1st mayor to be elected by popular vote in a city election...

1873] Alfred Paraf patents the 1st successful oleomargarine...

1952] President Harry S. Truman seizes the steel mills in order to prevent a nationwide strike...

1953] The bones of Sitting Bull are moved from North to South Dakota...

1974] Hank Aaron passes Babe Ruth, becoming baseball's new Home Run King with his 715th home run off of Dodger pitcher Al Downing. Barry Bonds passed Aaron last season...

1983] Danny & the Juniors lead singer, Danny Rapp is a victim of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head at 41. ..1994] The body of Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain is found in Seattle, another apparent victim of suicide. Cobain was 27...

1998] George Michael is released on bail after his arrest for engaging in a lewd act in a park restroom...

The Trolley Swan Song: 1957] The last of New York City's electric trolleys completes its final run from Queens to Manhattan...

Diaper duffer: 1963] At the age of 23, Jack Nicklaus becomes the youngest golfer to win the green jacket at the Masters Tournament...

Higher than the Berlin Wall: 1958] The L.A. Dodgers erect a 42-foot screen in left field at the LA Coliseum to cut down on home runs, only 250 feet down the line (no worries for Frank "Hondo" Howard)...

Stones are formed: 1962] The Rolling Stones are formed when Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Brian Jones meet at the Ealing Blues Club in England...

Who's your Daddy?: 1967] Tom Donahue begins the Progressive a.k.a. AOR (Album Oriented Rock) FM format at KMPX in San Francisco. Donahue will become known as the "Father of FM Radio"...

An Oscar for the Pilgrim: 1970] After appearing in 200 movies, John Wayne wins his first and only Oscar for his role in "True Grit"...

Friday, April 4, 2008

I woke up this morning with the Randi Rhodes story ringing in my ears and I saw the bar of soap. I'll get to the bar of soap in a minute. In case you missed it, 'Air America' talk show radio host Randi Rhodes has been suspended for verbally whacking Hillary Clinton and Geraldine Ferraro at an appearance in San Francisco on behalf of Clear Channel's KKGN. Randi called both women "f---ingwhores". Better yet, here's the video...

Back to the bar of soap. In the 70s there was a picture of Don Imus with a bar of soap in his mouth. The photo was blown up for bus and subway posters and it became the I-man's signature. If you had never heard nor seen Imus until you saw the picture, you immediately knew what he was all about. It reminded me of the old Levy's Rye Bread posters that you saw in the 50s with faces of people that you wouldn't see in shul saying "You Don't Have To Be Jewish To Love Levy's Rye Bread".That was one of the most effective ad campaigns of all-time. So too was Imus eating the bar of soap. I'm not sure who came up with that but my bet is on Gloria Gibson a.k.a. "Gibby" who was WNBC promotion director at the time. I was fortunate to inherit Gibby when I became P.D. in 1976...Randi Rhodes is the latest recipient of the 'bar of soap' award for bashing fellow liberals, Hillary Clinton and Geraldine Ferraro. It's more than interesting to note that Randi Rhodes is a host on the ultra-liberal "Air America" radio network. Have we gone full circle now with liberals bashing liberals? I don't know much about Air America but I remember when the network was launched five years ago two of the hosts were Al Franken and Janeane Garofalo, both of whom could get cranky at the drop of the word 'Republican'. Mention 'Conservative' and they would go ballistic. I guess things have changed...10 Timeline Memories:

1841] 'Happy Trails': President William Henry Harrison dies of pneumonia one month after his inauguration becoming the first president to die in office. Harrison, who served the shortest term of any president was 68 (4/4)...1964] General Douglas MacArthur dies of natural causes at 84 (4/5)...1976] Reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes dies from kidney failure at 72 (4/5)...1981] Bob "Bear" Hite of Canned Heat passes away from a heart attack at 36 (4/5)...1992] Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton succumbs to cancer at 74 (4/5)...1998] Legendary Country artist Tammy Wynette dies in her sleep at 55 (4/6)...2006] Gene Pitney is found dead in his Cardiff (Wales) hotel room during a UK tour. Pitney dies from natural causes (4/5)...

1930] Twinkie munch: Hostess Twinkies are invented by bakery executive James Dewar, who washes his down with a drink he invented (4/6)...

1968] Struck down in his prime: Tragedy strikes in Memphis as Martin Luther King Jr. is gunned down while standing on his balcony outside his room at the Lorraine Motel. King was in Memphis to support striking sanitation workers (4/4)...

1973] The birth of the DH: The Yankees' Ron Blomberg becomes baseball's first designated hitter, walking in his first at-bat against the Red Sox in Fenway (4/6)...

1982] Chapter 11: Record World Magazine, which was founded in 1946 as "Music Vendor" and changed its name to "Record World" in 1964, folds (4/5)...

1983] Jimmy V for victory: Jim Valvano's North Carolina State Wolfpack upsets mighty Houston, led by Clyde Drexler, 54-52 to win the NCAA title. Valvano is seen running around for someone to hug after the win (4/4)...

1991] Tragedy in the air: Senator John Heinz of Pennsylvania and 6 others are killed when a helicopter collides with the Pittsburgh Senator's plane over a school yard in Merion (PA) (4/4)...

1993] What timeout?: Michigan's Chris Webber calls a timeout his Wolverines don't have, resulting in a technical and loss of the ball. North Carolina wins its 3rd national title (second under Dean Smith) 77-71 (4/5)...

1995] Alfonse's folly: Jokester/Senator (NY) Alfonse D'Amato uses a mock Japanese accent to ridicule judge Lance Ito and his handling of the O.J. Simpson murder trial. D'Amato did this in a phoner to a radio station (4/4)...

2001] No mo hits: Red Sox pitcher Hideo Nomo no-hits Baltimore to become only the 4th MLB pitcher to pitch no-hitters in both leagues (4/4)...

Music Memories:

1958] Debuted on this date: "Johnny Mathis' Greatest Hits" LP debuts on the charts for a then-record 490 weeks, 10 years - but who's counting? (4/5)...

1960] Recorded on this date: "Are You Lonesome Tonight" - Elvis Presley (4/4)...

1963] Heard on the radio on this date: "It's My Party" by Lesley Gore who heard her first record on WINS coming home from school (4/6)...

1963] Number One on the radio: "He's So Fine" - Chiffons (4/4)...1973] "The Night The Lights Went Out in Georgia" - Vicki Lawrence (4/4)...

1985] "We Are The World": An estimated 5,000 radio stations simultaneously play "We Are The World" to raise money to feed those starving in Africa and the U.S. (4/5)...Harvey Mednick considers this one of the proudest moments at R&R for he and Dwight Case. Ken Kragen receives an award at that year's NAB convention for his work on "USA ForAfrica" which was benefited by the "We Are The World" promotion...

I'm proud to announce the launch of 'Mel Phillips Now & Then', my new website on Monday, April 7, 2008. Done in a blog style format, it will contain all the features you enjoy now. It will stay free of charge and if you're getting this post now, you'll get my new website every day starting Monday. 'Mel Phillips Remembers' will be maintained and updated with archival data with the good stuff moving to MPN&T. See you Monday...

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Job cutbacks are nothing new...The latest cutbacks at CBS follow earlier cutbacks at ABC, NBC and probably at a job near you too. Nothing new here at all. You've been fired, I've been fired. Find someone you know who hasn't been fired at one time or another. You know who doesn't get fired? The person that works for himself, that's who. What you can count on is this - if business is down, you could be fired. CBS revenues - down 14.6% in the fourth quarter. ABC and NBC were down when they cut jobs...Is this the beginning of some kind of trend? No. I know because I can read. The unemployment rate was just 4.8% in February, 2008. It is up from 2007 when the rate was 4.6% for the year but hardly anything to panic about. You know jobs are scarce when the government extends the length of unemployment checks, something we haven't seen in a few years. This is not to say the economy isn't in the dumper because it is but don't look at these cutbacks as a trend...

Through good times and bad, people will be fired if for no other reason than they can be. The company is top heavy, business is down, it's time to cut expenses, salaries are getting too high. Name your favorite excuse, it's in there somewhere. A few years back I read a book called "Swim With The SharksWithout Being Eaten Alive" by Harvey MacKay. It's worth a trip to Amazon.com and a minimal investment...

10 Timeline Memories...

1882] 'Happy Trails': Outlaw Jesse James, 34, is shot dead in St. Joseph (MO) by Robert Ford, a member of his gang...1990] Jazz great Sarah Vaughan dies from lung cancer at 66...1996] An Air Force jet carrying Commerce Secretary Ron Brown crashes in Croatia killing all 35 aboard. Brown was 54...2007] Eddie Robinson, college football's winningest coach, dies from natural causes at 88...

1936] Death by electrocution: Bruno Hauptmann is electrocuted in Trenton (NJ) for the kidnap-murder of the Lindbergh baby...

1953] Debuted on this date: TV Guide is published for the first time with Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz Jr. on the cover...

1962] Curtains: Jockey Eddie Arcaro retires after 31 years and 24,092 races...1968] Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his 'mountaintop' speech to a rally of striking sanitation workers in Memphis. It will be his final speech...1982] John Chancellor steps down as anchor of "NBC Nightly News" and is replaced by Tom Brokaw and Roger Mudd...

1966] The Mets win the lottery: The New York Mets win the rights to "TheFranchise" a.k.a. Tom Seaver in a lottery drawing after the Atlanta Braves violated the rules by signing the pitcher after the college season had started. Three years later Seaver helps the Mets win their first World Series...

1985] Baseball rolls a seven: Baseball owners and players agree to expand the post-season championship series from a best-of-five format to 'best-of-seven'...

1988] The Devil made them do it: The New Jersey Devils beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 in OT to make the playoffs for the first time...

1965] Released on this date: "Wooly Bull" - Sam The Sham and The Pharaoh's...

Commentary:

Gordon Brown alerts us to a show at the Lowell (MA) Memorial Auditorium tonight starring Tony Orlando who will be celebrating his 64th birthday at the show followed by a 'meet and greet' after the concert. Tony will being doing all his hits. For last minute tickets you can call the Auditorium box office at 978-454-2299. Tony was always a mensch when we needed anything from him at CBS-FM. Happy birthday Tony...

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

At least Network Radio is up...Mediabuyerplanner.com reports that Network Radio sales went up 4% in 2007 to $1.15 billion. No such increase was realized at the rest of the radio spectrum with sales down 3% to $18.5 billion. Network is off to a solid start in 2008 with May on the way to being sold out. As a former clearer of Network radio shows for ABC Radio, I was happy to hear that good news...In 1991 I was hired by ABC Radio to clear Dick Bartley's oldies shows after he left United Stations and had a brief 3-year fling with Westwood One. It was a start-up for Dick and ABC and my job was to clear stations for Dick's two oldies shows - "American Gold" and "Rock & Roll's Greatest Hits". Because of Dick's track record and the great quality of both shows, my job was easy compared to clearing most network shows. Unless you have Rush Limbaugh or Imus, it ain't easy to clear talk, food or any other kind of network show. Ask anyone who's ever done it. Am I happy that network radio is up? You bet...And what accounts are coming to the network table? The big guys, like Home Depot, Sears and Wal-Mart and no one is happier than ABC Radio, Premiere, Westwood One and Dial-Global. While local radio is still the bread-and-butter standard for radio, how nice to see a healthy, do we dare say - trend - developing in any form of radio...10 Timeline Memories:

1513] The first real estate mogul: Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon lands in Florida and puts up a condo in Boca...

1877] With 6 you get egg roll: President Rutherford B. Hayes rolls out the first Easter egg as the annual Easter Egg Roll begins on the White House lawn...

1932] Blood Money: A $50,000 ransom is paid for the infant son of Charles and Anna Lindbergh. The child is not returned and will be found dead the following month...

1972] 'Happy Trails': Mets manager Gil Hodges who managed the Mets to their first world championship in 1969, dies of a heart attack while playing golf in West Palm Beach (FL) two days before his 48th birthday. Yogi Berra replaces Hodges as Mets manager...1998] Rob Pilatus of Milli Vanilli dies of a drug overdose in a Frankfurt, Germany hotel room. Pilatus was 32...2005] Pope John Paul II dies of natural causes at 85. Karol JozefWojtyla is succeeded by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger who becomes Pope Benedict XVI...

1978] Debuted on this date: The first episode of "Dallas" airs on CBS-TV. The series will run for the last time in May of 1991...

1986] The Trey goes to college: The NCAA adopts the 3-point shot in men's basketball and decides to use instant replay to check scoring and timing errors...

1992] Guilty as charged: Mob boss John Gotti is convicted in New York of murder and racketeering. He's later sentenced to life in prison where he will die...

2007] Gator attack: The Florida Gators beat the Ohio State Buckeyes 84-75 in the NCAA basketball championship game to become the first school in Division I history to win both the men's basketball and football titles in the same academic year...

The tip off to Donnie Walsh becoming president of basketball operations for the Knicks was his denial. When you see a denial, the deal is already done. The Knick fans on the street are ecstatic but are waiting for the next size 18 sneaker to drop - the dismissal of Isiah Thomas and it doesn't stop there. They also want to see James L. Dolan out too but how do you get rid of the owner of the team? You don't - sorry...

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Clear Channel mess spreads to the New York courts...The banks being sued by Clear Channel, namely Citigroup, Inc., Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, Royal Bank of Scotland and Wachovia tell Clear Channel - we're no April Fool. The bank group said yesterday that they're willing to go back to the negotiating table with Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital, the private-equity firms that agreed to buy Clear Channel in the first place. "The Bank Group continues to stand ready to honor the Commitment Letter and reach a funding agreement on mutually agreeable terms" was the statement they issued yesterday, according to Dow Jones...The banks asked a New York court to dismiss part of the litigation, the part that says the banks reneged on commitments to fund the $19.5 billion deal. What a mess! Now we have a New York court in on the litigation, on top of the Texas court. Who's next? Judge Judy???The thing that really ticks off the banks is that Clear Channel apparently paid a visit to the Texas judge's home in the middle of the night. Clear Channel wanted their suit to be over quickly before their deal agreement ends in June. The banks have argued that the Texas state court isn't the appropriate forum for the lawsuit and have asked for the case to be moved to Texas federal court. Clear Channel's angle is that the case stays in state court which might possibly be, wink-wink, more friendly to the San Antonio radio and billboard company...Hey, if Judge Judy is booked, how about the crying judge who presided over the custody of Anna Nicole Smith's baby??? 10 Timeline Memories:

1876] Play Ball: Boston beats Philadelphia 6-5 in the first official National League game...

1930] And he held on to the ball: Leo Harnett of the Cubs breaks the height record for a catch when he grabs a baseball dropped from the Goodyear blimp 800 feet over Los Angeles. Excavation of his body takes several days but when found, the ball was still in his glove - and nobody got hurt...

1938] A Hall of an opening: The Baseball Hall of Fame opens in Cooperstown (NY)...

1963] Back to work: The Typographers Union ends its strike that closed 9 New York City newspapers for 114 days. The strike began in December of 1962. One of the reasons we only have 3 viable newspapers (Times, News & Post) left...

1972] Strike One: Major leaguers walk out at the end of spring training and begin the first general player's strike in sports history. They return April 13...

1984] Marvin murdered: Marvin Gaye is shot to death by his father in Los Angeles one day before his 45th birthday...

1991] O-K: After making the Final Four 5 times under coach Mike Krzysweski since 1986, Duke finally wins its first NCAA crown with a 72-65 win over Kansas...

1996] 'Happy Trails': Homeplate umpire John McSherry dies from a massive heart attack during a game. McSherry was 52...

2003] Saving Private Lynch: American troops enter a hospital in Iraq and rescue Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch, held prisoner since her unit was ambushed 9 days earlier...

Music Memories:

1976] Released on this date: "Margaritaville" - Jimmy Buffett...Everybody...

Commentary:

The knife came out for America's Liberal flagship network, Air America which just celebrated its 5th birthday. Let go were midday hosts Lionel (no last name)and Thom Hartmann but remaining are Al Sharpton, Randi Rhodes, Ed Schultz, Rachel Maddow and others. David Hinckley has the lowdown on the network carried locally at WWRL...

About Me

Mel Phillips Now & Then is more Now. The Then always follows the Now. Prior to starting 'Remembers' in 2005 and 'Now & Then' on April 7, 2008 I enjoyed a multi-media career which included being one of the Bill Drake program directors. I was involved in the programming of such legendary stations as WOR-FM, WXLO-FM, WNBC, WRKO AM & FM and KQV. I was also General Manager of Hooper Radio, played disc jockey in markets such as Tampa, Nashville, Norfolk and Atlantic City and enjoyed marketing success in syndicated radio for several companies including ABC, MJI and United Stations. My background also includes the music business where I promoted such diverse CBS acts as The Clash, Gloria Estefan, Loverboy, Judas Priest, George Michael & Julio Iglesias. In Special Programming at WCBS-FM I wrote and produced numerous specials and interviewed some of the biggest recording stars. In addition to this post I'm a regular contributor to Radio Daily News. My wife Diane and I reside on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and I'm very proud of my children, Robert Phillips, Lynn Phillips Brough and granddaughters Allyson and Amy...